Bentley, New South Wales

The tiny settlement of Bentley, 23 kilometres north-west of Lismore on the Kyogle Road, has become recognised throughout Australia for its annual art competition. Held in August at the Bently Hall, the Bentley Art Prize offers a $1000.00 fist prize for its open section and a $1000.00 acquisition prize. Hundreds of artists from New South Wales and Queensland enter and the Aboriginal art section is earning a strong reputation. Bentley was named after Great Bentley in England, the birthplace of Robert Barrington Dawson, who built Bentley Homestead in the late 1870's.